Air conditioning substance



Patented May 9, 1933 FREDERICK anessnn, or. NEW -YORK, N.

AIRflON-DITIONING 3UBSTAN'GE No Drawing.

The present invention relates to air conditioning substances, and moreparticularly to a composite'cast material capable 'ofxmain taining anenvironment immediately 1 surrounding in a relatively "meist 1 conditionwhile at the same time possessinga superficial surface which is dry totouch.

It 'has'been-thegeneral practice heretofore to maintain the environmentin a cabinet, show case, container or the like in a relatively moistcondition by placing an open vessel containing water or an aqueousllquid within the cabinet or other closed chamber. Sometimes a sponge ora similar absorbent object was utilized as a reservoir for hold ng waterand giving it off to the surroundlng environment as the latter tended tobecome dry. The use of liquids and wetted absorbents was objectionable,as is well known, various proposals were made to overcome the inherentdisadvantages Of these various proposals one of the more important wasthe suggestion of the utilization of divers organic and inorganicchemicals capable of giving off water. These chemicals were filled intojars and other vessels which were placed in cabinets or show cases forpreventing the atmosphere thereln from becoming dry. The use of jars orthe like was inconvenient and some of the chemicals tended to dust offonto the articles being moistened and to give such articles a saltytaste while some other chemicals tended to emit undesirable odors. For avariety of reasons, consequently, the use of a mass of chemicals held ina vessel in open contact with the arti-' cles being preserved wasobjectionable. Attempts were made to overcome the shortcoming of theaforesaid proposals by providing porous solid bodies which would absorblarge quantities of water in a liquid condition in their pores. Theseporous bodies were damp and wet and were undesirable like wet spongesmentioned hereinbefore. None of the attempts insofar as I am aware wassuccessful in providing a commercially satisfactory material capable ofmoistening environments within closed chambers such as cabinets.

I have discovered a composite material and which overcomes thedisadvantages andwobjections noted hereinaibov-e and whichzipriovides aconvenient and compact-material to use for the .ma-intenance of a humid:feondi tion i nzthe .air with. which it is inr'cont'act. Mydiscoveryalse contemplates the provision of: a compositeiinaterial,which is capable-of casting into desired; shapes and: forms= es:.p'eci'ally adapted for the purposes inmhand and for the! cabinet orclosed chamber containin g the articles to bepr'ese'rved in a moistened; condition, which has. a dry: feel when touched withithe-haindg andiwlriohiis odorless and sanitary. i l 7 Other obj sets (and featureszofcthe invention will become apparenttifroin thehtollow ingdescription); 1 1

The folio ingie-xample' is givenwmerel'y for :the purposes(if-"illustration .iniordertoset forth; my invention with :elarity' andpair ticularityi1.. I

In the mainufacturerof my icompositema.- ,terial IE prefer toimake asubstantially satu rated solution: of: aIr-Jefilerescenti salt which a lhave selectedforsv' 'eorporatinninimy :composite material. Apreferred'salstiis 'Glauersisalt :(Nafifir-lOl-EQ) whioh is capable of:evolving water vapor into surrounding environment and; ofmaintainingsueh env-i ronmemza inia humid; condition. A saturatedsolution; of this salt; in watercatrl5i C5, as

one skilled in the art understanda icontai ns one part @laubers: salt tol-two; parts of water, andatQOf? PG; one part rGlairbers salt in; onepart .olewaterl l havetoundrthat a solution. of the aforesaid i typecanlbel used to effect set-ting fiIlClLh22J3lQl1ll1 of pla'ste'r ofParis whlle at the same tlrnenpreservin'g its ietflorescent property? inthez cast ma terialr The plaster of. Paris is zpreferably mixe'dthoroughly with a strong solution of tirl atv be'rssaltziand then iscast or is permitted toiset'ill a molcl Orthc -dike- The dry castcom-pesite .material containing plasteri Paris and Gl'aubers saltmaintains a-hw midityi'corresponding to that of the' Glaubei s salt."Even thefngh the particles .nrcrystals of the Glalubefis salt areincorporated in the interstices :or .mesh'es of the solidified plasterof Baris, the salt is capable of'evolv ing moisture which penetratesthrough the body of the material to the outer surfaces thereof and thento the encompassing or immediate environment.

The use of my cast composite material having a dry feel is obvious toone skilled in the art. If it is desired to maintain a cabinetcontaining cigars, for example, in a humid condition, a block of mymaterial is placed in the cabinet and the material will automaticallymaintain the atmosphere in a humid condition for a relatively longperiod of time. In this manner the cigars, for instance, will beprevented from becoming dried out and unsaleable.

hen my material is to be used in a container, box or the like, I preferto cast a block or slab having the same shape and dimensions as a sideof the box so that the cast block or slab will fit the container, box,or the like. In case a jar or can of tobacco is to be kept moist, I casta thin disk which fits snugly in the cover of the jar or can. Of course,the block or slab of material may also be Wrapped in a porous sheet material such as tissue.

In place of Glaubers salt, it is also possible to use magnesium sulphatebut as mentioned hereinbefore, I prefer to use Glaubers salt.

lVhile I have given a specific example of my improved process merely byway of illus tration, it is to be understood that I am not to beconfined to the exact steps nor the specific reagents given as they areto be regarded only as illustrative and typical. Various modificationsmay be made without departing from the nature of my invention as definedin the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A composition of matter containing set plaster of Paris and asubstantial amount of an efflorescent salt capable of evolving watervapor so as to effectively maintain the atmosphere in a chamber in arelatively humid condition.

2. A composition of matter containing set plaster of Paris and asubstantial amount of Glaubers salt capable of evolving water vapor soas to effectively maintain the atmosphere in a chamber in a relativelyhumid condition.

3. A cast material adapted to maintain a surrounding environment withina closed chamber in a humid condition comprising set plaster of Pariswith a substantial amount of Glaubers salt incorporated throughout theinterstices of said set plaster of Paris, said Glaubers salt being in anefiiorescent condition capable of evolving water vapor so as toeffectively maintain the said chamber in humid condition.

4. The manufacture of a cast material adapted to maintain a surroundmgenvironment Within a closed chamber in a humid condition which comprisesmixing plaster of Paris with a strong solution of an efilorescent saltand then permitting said plaster of Paris to set and harden with thesaid salt distributed therethrough in an efHorescent condition capableof evolving water vapor so as to effectively maintain the atmos phere insaid chamber in a humid condition.

5. The manufacture of a cast material adapted to maintain a surroundingenvironment within a closed chamber in a humid condition which comprisesmixing plaster of Paris with a strong solution of Glaubers salt and thencasting said mixture in a form to produce a cast and hardened compositematerial having a dry feel and being capable of evolving water vaporfrom the crystallized Glaubers salt distributed through said cast andhardened plaster of Paris.

in testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

FREDERICK A. HESSEL.

